In a downpour, a clogged roof gutter can send a cascade of water down the side of a house, making canyons of flowerbeds and saturating a home's foundation. Clean gutters protect your siding and landscape plantings and prevent thousands of dollars of damage to a home's foundation. Therefore, it is in a homeowner's best interest to clean gutters of leaves and debris to help prevent damage and to head off expensive water damage repairs to a home.
Gutters should be cleaned at least once a year—twice a year if you have overhanging trees and more often if big storms are regular occurrence in the area of the home. The typical way to clean gutters is time-consuming and potentially dangerous as it entails donning proper cloths and gloves, climbing a ladder with a small plastic scoop in hand and clearing and removing leaves and debris. Afterwards, the gutters and downspouts should be flushed with a garden hose. If climbing ladders is not a task a homeowner can handle, a professional can be hired to do the job at a large expense.
A homeowner can slow clogging by installing gutter covers in the form of mesh screens, clip-on grates, or porous foam. However, these gutter covers also need maintenance, which is also time-consuming and potentially dangerous, at regular intervals to keep them clear.